French singer and actor Gaston Ouvrard was born on March 10, 1890 in Bergerac, France. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Eloi Ouvrard, a performer and lyricist at cafés-concerts. Eloi was the first artist to perform in the comique-troupier style, in 1876. Ouvrard fils's first known phonogram was released in 1909 for the song "C'est mon frère ". Ouvrard's rise to fame was interrupted by the Great War, in which he served as a soldier. He quickly resumed his career, eventually abandoning the trooper's uniform (the style fell into disuse) to make way for tuxedos. Gaston Ouvrard's strength lay in his articulation, his ability to sing difficult lyrics quickly and perfectly, becoming one of the first masters of virelangue, a style in which Boby Lapointe would also excel. Recordings of his songs were released by Pathé, Columbia and Ultraphone in the 20s and 40s, the best-known being "La Famille Tartempion" (1929), "Je ne Suis Pas Bien Portant" (1934), "Dis-Moi Pourquoi" (from the film Le Train de 8h47) and "Le Chien de Sasha " (1939). After the Second World War, the artist went out of fashion, but was nevertheless seen in a few films and television programs. He re-recorded his greatest songs on vinyl in 1966. Since then, his songs have been frequently reissued. Gaston Ouvrard died on November 26, 1981 in Caussade.
